CFP for CTU Conference “Many Rooms: Space and Sanctity in Judaism and Christianity” (1-2 April 2019)

Call for Abstracts for conference on sacred space in Judaism and Christianity at Catholic Theological Union (Chicago, IL) 1-2 April 2019.

The next Hayim Perelmuter Conference will take place at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago on April 1–2, 2019 in partnership with University of Notre Dame. The Perelmuter Conference has a long tradition of focusing on Jewish-Catholic dialogue and exploring scholarship pertaining to the intersection of Jewish and Catholic literature, history, and theology. The theme of the 2019 conference will be “Many Rooms: Space and Sanctity in Judaism and Christianity.”
The organizers invite abstracts that pertain to Jewish and Christian approaches to navigating the realms of sacred space, and in particular welcome abstracts that address the meaning of sacred space in Judaism and Christianity; the sanctification of space beyond the house of worship; questions of how the synagogue and the church have been and continue to be utilized as spaces that both preserve tradition and offer opportunity for new modes of religious expression; the ways that access to holy spaces has served to enforce or subvert structural norms; the relationship between religious practice in the Jewish and Christian home versus in institutional settings; and how holy space is used metaphorically in Jewish and Christian literature.

Plenary event will be the Spring Shapiro lecture delivered by Prof. Steven Fine, Dean Pinkhos Churgin Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University and founding Director of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies.

Please submit an abstract of approximately 300 words by November 1st to Dr. Malka Simkovich at msimkovich@ctu.edu and Dr. Tzvi Novick at mnovick@nd.edu. Papers can address one or another religious tradition, but abstracts with a comparative focus, or with clear comparative relevance, are especially welcome. Graduate students are asked to submit a curriculum vitae along with their abstract. Decisions about accepted papers will be made by December 1. Accepted papers should be 20 minutes in length, to be followed by 10 minutes of discussion. The conference will provide speakers with meals and an honorarium to help cover travel costs and discounted lodging at CTU.
Contact Info:
Malka Simkovich msimkovich@ctu.edu
Tzvi Novick mnovick@nd.edu